That First Christmas
by DeathandJunkfood
Summary: A series of fics about Jily's first Christmas as a married couple. There's snow, and biscuit baking, (which goes terribly, horribly wrong) and mistletoe and Christmas trees. And James and Lily are content, for a while at least, to live in their little village and let the snow drift higher while they sit by the fireplace. Part of the Falling 'verse.
1. The Perfect Tree

_**Disclaimer... these characters belong to JKR**_

* * *

 _ **A.N. Hi guys! So I've decided to do a series of twelve oneshots about Jily's first Christmas as a married couple from December 12th all the way to the 24th. I'll post one a day until Christmas Eve. Hopefully. Internet depending, of course. Anyways, I include a few characters from my on-going Marauders' era Hogwarts fic**_ **A Rise and Fall** ** _and I include a few references to events within that story. It's not necessary to read it to understand this one, but a few moments might make more sense. If you're a reader of_** **A Rise and Fall** ** _, welcome, and I hope you all enjoy. Merry Christmas!_**

* * *

 _December 12th, 1978. Godric's Hollow._

Snow lay in a thick blanket over Godric's Hollow, like a coat. It seemed like the town was bundling up for winter, slumbering under the snow. Lily twitched the curtains aside to peer out at it. She traced delicate patterns on the frosty window.

"James!" she called. "It snowed in the night, come look!"

The sun hadn't risen, and the village was lit by soft blue light. It reminded Lily of the silver-blue glow of a Patronus. Behind her, there were footsteps, and someone yawned. She spun round to see James. He rubbed a hand over his face, and he looked at her sleepily. His hair stood on end, sleep mussed.

"Why're you so sleepy?" Lily asked suspiciously. He always woke up first.

"Sirius came by, once you went to bed"

"Did he want to run round in the snow?"

"Maybe"

" _Children_ "

He grinned at her shamelessly and wrapped his arms round her waist. She stood on tiptoes so she could tilt her head against his dark one. It was chill in their living room, but thick rugs underfoot sopped up the worst of the cold.

Lily reached behind James to grab her wand lying on the coffee table, and pointed it at the empty fireplace. A fire sprung up, and the heat reached them almost instantly.

"Merry Christmas, Lily" James said, still holding her.

"James. It's the twelfth"

"You and your logic"

"Let me go, I'll make breakfast. Is Remus coming by today?"

Reluctantly, James untangled them and stepped back from her as she scooped a dressing gown off the couch and shoved a pair of slippers on her feet.

"I think so – I asked him last week but he might've forgotten. Sirius and Peter are definitely coming"

"Mary and Marlene as well"

"Excellent"

They cooked in companionable silence for a while, smoothly passing each other in the cottage's small kitchen. It was almost like a dance. That was when Lily knew that this whole thing would really work - their first night in Godric's Hollow, before they got married, and the first dinner that they cooked together. They fit. They _worked_. They could anticipate each other's movements and trade kisses as they did it.

Remembering, Lily smiled, and tossed the box of tea to James.

The snow outside drew the eye, like a diamond pendent on a woman's slender neck. Across the road, their neighbour's small daughter ventured out into the untouched whiteness, bundled in jackets and scarfs, and with the tell-tale steam from a Heating Charm rising off of her.

The girl kicked at the snow, and Lily remembered an autumn day not so many years ago, when she dashed into a pile of golden leaves and kicked them into the heavens. James had been there, of course. He was always there.

It was a reassuring thought, and Lily interrupted his tea-making to pull him into a kiss. She was allowed to still be a giddy bride. They had been married for all of five months, and she was all of eighteen years old. She smiled against his mouth, and pulled him closer as the snow spun outside their window.

* * *

Peter and Sirius and Remus and Mary and Marlene arrived at lunch time – Marlene Flooing from the Order's headquarters, and Mary from her flat that she shared with her boyfriend. Sirius, Peter and Remus arrived at the front door and stomped snow from their boots before being ushered inside by a delighted James.

"Look" James was saying. "We have a _house_. We're like _grown-ups_ "

"They've been over before and we've been grown-ups for a while, dear" Lily told him fondly, pulling on a scarf and passing him a hat.

" _You_ might've been a grown-up, Lily, but he certainly hasn't" Remus said, giving her a quick hug before exchanging greetings with Marlene and Mary.

"He'll have plenty of time to grow up, I suppose" Lily cast a dubious look at her husband, who'd chased Sirius outside and was pelting him with snowballs.

"We're on a mission for a Christmas tree, yeah?" Peter said, following the others out the door.

"The biggest one we can find" James confirmed, stomping through the snow. Lily hurried ahead to tuck her arm through his, and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

"Don't listen to him" she called back over her shoulder as he pulled her along. "We're looking for a reasonably sized tree. It has to fit in our living room, remember?"

* * *

A little ways out of the village and up the hill where James used to play Quidditch, there was a pine forest, coated in fluffy snow. The trees looked like strange cakes with white frosting.

"I suppose we can just shrink one" Marlene said.

"Oh right" Sirius remembered happily. "We have _magic_ "

Lily grinned back at them and James gave her arm a tug, sending her into the snow.

"Sorry!" he laughed, trying to pull her up from the snow bank. Before she could struggle up, Remus snuck up behind him and shoved him into the snow as well.

It took a considerable time before they could find a tree that they were happy with.

("What about this one?" James asked. "Look, it had a weird – lumpy side" Mary pointed out)

("No, that one's too skinny" Peter said dismissively. "Poor tree, it's not its fault")

("Too tall" "We could shrink it" Marlene suggested. "I'm not shrinking a tree, it shouldn't have to have cosmetic surgery to be perfect")

Sirius was the one who found it. It stood a little apart from the other trees, branches so coated with snow that you couldn't quite tell it was a tree at all.

"It's this one" he said confidently.

Lily squinted at it. It was a reasonable height, and it could probably fit in their pokey little cottage.

Remus murmured a spell and all the snow floated off the tree, dumping itself a little ways away.

It was tall and proud – its branches symmetrical and it was just round enough to not be considered skinny. Lily circled it slowly, checking for bald spots.

"It's perfect" she said finally, slinging an arm around Sirius.

"Our first tree" James said, beaming at her. Lily couldn't help but smile back, and she didn't even stop smiling when Mary dumped a load of snow down her hood.

They were together, and it was Christmas.

James slipped an arm around her waist, and kissed the snowflakes off her lips.

* * *

 _ **A.N. Thanks for reading! If you like, I'd love a review.**_


	2. Silver Memories

_**Disclaimer... these characters belong to JKR**_

 _December 13th, 1978_

It took a remarkably long time for them to realize that they didn't actually own any Christmas decorations or ornaments.

"Wow" Lily commented, leaning her head on James's shoulder. "We suck at being grownups"

"Yeah" James said, taking her hand. "But at least we suck at it together"

"That's the worst line I've ever heard you come up with"

"Thanks"

Their tree stood in the corner of their living room, away from the fire, but near the window. The couch arm just brushed it. It was tall and green and healthy, no doubt thanks to Lily's Preservation Charm that she'd cast the moment they got it home.

"My parents probably have some decorations" James continued, taking a sip of hot cider from the mug beside him. "We never really finished cleaning out the mansion"

Lily squeezed his hand. Euphemia and Fleamont Potter had lived long enough to see their son get married, before a quick deadly bout of dragon pox killed them within a matter of weeks. Their deaths had half killed their only son too, and he was just starting to get back to normal. The funeral had been a small, quiet affair, with only the closest friends and family attending. They were buried in the graveyard beside the church, side by side, near the kissing gate. They would be blanketed by snow, now. Lily visited every Saturday to bring fresh flowers to them. James came sometimes, but more often than not he'd stay home and give her a tight hug once she came home.

James hadn't been up to his old house since the funeral.

"Are you sure you want to go up there?"

"Yes. Could you come with me?"

"Always"

The house that had been so full of summer light and laughter whenever Lily visited was now empty and cold. There was the smell of dead flowers in the air, and Lily shivered, remembering a night – four years ago when that mansion was filled with golden candles and the thick scent of flowers. That night had changed a lot of things.

 _"'If we shadows have offended'_ " Lily whispered, pulling another piece of the past forwards.

"What was that?"

"Shakespeare. Remember?"

"Of course"

James couldn't quite get the ghosts out of his mind. As they passed through the empty kitchen, on the way to the stairs, he saw his mother out of the corner of his eye. Her hair had never gone grey – it had always been black shot with silver silk.

There was a stack of paper at her elbow and she was laughing silently, before James turned to her, and she was gone. There was a faint lingering smell of her perfume and James was sure that he had imagined it.

It was cold in the house, and he wrapped his arm around Lily's shoulder as they walked silently up the stairs.

Sometimes he still couldn't believe that he really got to touch her, hold her, kiss her.

"In there" he whispered. It felt wrong, somehow to talk. It would be like speaking in a library.

The storage space held cardboard boxes full of mementos. There was his father's certificate of acceptance into the Potioneer's League, and his mother's trophy for extraordinary contributions to the field of Magizoology. An entire box was dedicated to James's attempts at art, and his Quidditch captain and Head Boy badges sat on top.

" _Lumos_ " Lily murmured, and the room was filled with soft silver-blue light. It was the same light that had illuminated the freshly fallen snow, the same light that a Patronus was made of.

There was four boxes, sitting together and striped in red and greed cardboard.

"Think we found them" Lily said, smiling at him and brushing gloved fingers over his cheek.

" _Wingardium Leviosa_ "

The boxes floated up and James directed them down the stairs, eager to leave the ghosts behind.

Later, in their small cottage, they unpacked them.

Lily caused evergreen garlands to blossom from her wand, draping themselves over the walls and doorframes, and a wreath of Christmas roses appeared on the front door. Strands of multi-coloured lights encircled the tree, and James started to unpack ornaments, pulling them free from layers of gauzy tissue paper.

There were delicate glass balls, painted with snowy forest scenes, and carved wooden soldiers in robes and wands. A clear glass witch and wizard, embracing was exclaimed over by Lily, and when they turned it over, they found a message carved in looping script on the base.

 _For Fleamont and Euphemia on their first Christmas together. May there be a hundred more, and may they all be filled with love and laughter._

That one went on the front of the tree, right at eye level.

A collection of nutcrackers were lined up on the windowsill, and Lily brought out eggnog and Christmas cake halfway through the decorating.

They laughed at a large, old Remembrall that someone had turned into an ornament, and when James held it, it filled with red smoke, making Lily laugh at him and ask him what he'd forgotten.

"Oh!" he said, clapping a hand to his forehead dramatically and falling back onto the carpet. "I remember. I forgot to tell you that I love you today"

Still laughing, she leaned in for a kiss and they bumped noses.

"James Potter, your lines get worse and worse"

"Lily _Potter_ , I know, and you love me for it"

The tree was decorated and glowing with green and red and blue and white and yellow lights when Lily had an idea. She reached for her wand, conjuring a small crystal flask and held it out to James.

"The memory of today" she said. "Put it in here. It'll be our first ornament"

He put the wand to his temple and drew out a silver skein of memory. The memory broke free from his wand and curled into the flask, just as bright as one of the strands of lights, and James could've sworn that it sparkled.

Lily's memory went in next, and she hung the glittering flask from the tree and took his hand in hers, rolling onto her back so they could gaze up at the tree.

"Merry Christmas Lily"

"It's the thirteenth, shut up"

"Grinch"

"Are you going to do this every day?"

" _Obviously_ "

 _ **Thanks for reading!**_


	3. Woolly Socks

**Disclaimer... these characters belong to JKR**

 _ **I'm so sorry for disappearing, my internet went down and I had all the chapters ready! Maddening.**_

 _December 14th, 1978_

Marlene and Mary arrived at ten to drag Lily off to Diagon Alley to Christmas shop. Lily hadn't been out of Godric's Hollow in at least a month, and walking through Muggle London reminded her just how much she loved the little village. The streets were crowded and swirling, like a blizzard of humanity. Christmas carols blasted from shops and a group of carollers stood on one street corner singing 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen'

"They're singing it wrong" Marlene said, frowning.

"No they're not"

"They _are,_ it's 'god rest ye merry Hippogriffs, let rats all come to play, remember that cold winter when we were gone astray-'"

"That's the wizarding version, 'Lena"

"Muggles are weird"

The Leaky Caldron was filled with witches and wizards clutching bags of shopping, and the girls waved at Tom the barman as they passed by. Lily was surprised it was so full – from what she'd gleaned from the Daily Prophet, more and more people were going into hiding. It was only when Marlene started pointing out the unfamiliar faces that it made sense.

"That's Travers – we haven't been able to get enough evidence to arrest him but the Order thinks he's hiding Bellatrix Black – Lestrange now. That's her husband – they got married last month. Nott and Greengrass – that's Amanda's aunt. And that's Lucius Malfoy over there, remember he graduated when we were in second year? Nasty bloke. Come on – they shouldn't recognize us but we'd best be careful. Pull up your hood"

Now that Lily thought about it, she recognized most of the faces from the Prophet. She hadn't been out in the field in a while, and she was paying the price now. Dumbledore had told her and James to take some time off and get settled in, and although Lily had resented it at first, it was lovely to be able to spend lazy days curled on the couch with James, with Remus or Sirius or Peter coming by for dinner now and then, and go on quiet walks through the nearby woods, holding James's hand.

After Christmas, they'd start fighting again. Lily couldn't wait.

"What're you getting James?" Mary asked as they passed through the brick wall.

"Socks" Lily said, not really paying attention.

"You can't get him _socks_ " Marlene complained. "It's your first Christmas as a grown-up married couple; you'll have to do better than that"

"Fine. Mary, what're you getting Liam?"

"Socks"

"Fancy that"

"We've only been dating two months; he'll be fine with socks"

The Diagon Alley Christmas displays were always – for lack of a better word – magical.

Magical snow showered down on miniature woodland scenes of snow covered trees, and tiny witches and wizards stood on the shores of a frozen lake, conjuring a huge Christmas tree into being. In the next window, a pile of presents sat beneath a tree. As the girls watched, the top burst out of one and a broomstick rocketed out, executing several flips and turns before returning to its box.

"New broomstick?" Mary suggested.

"Nah, he doesn't get much time to fly these days"

"Sneakoscope?" Marlene called from the other side of the street, peering into a shop of magical tools.

"He got one last birthday from Peter" Lily said gloomily.

"What about a pet? You haven't had a cat after Travis… and you two aren't having babies yet, how about a cat?"

"I'm very bitter that you haven't had children yet" Marlene informed Lily from where she was still looking at a Spy Glass. "You haven't made me a godmother"

"We're eighteen, Marlene. I'm not going to be a teenage mother"

"Excuses, excuses"

"Anyways" Mary interrupted. "Cat? You like cats. I'm fairly sure James likes cats. It would be a very couply present"

"Where would I store a _cat_ until Christmas?"

"I could take him home with me and Floo him over on Christmas Eve"

"Alright" Lily said, starting to grin. "I'll get him a cat"

They found a small magical creature shop, and while Mary cooed at Nifflers and Marlene stroked a Kneazle through the bars of its cage, Lily perused the selection of cats.

There were kittens and black cats and ginger ones and tabbies, but Lily stopped in front of a cage holding a huge orange cat with a rather squashed face.

"She's part Kneazle" the shop keeper informed Lily. "Had a litter a few months ago, all the kittens got taken except for that monster, over there, Crookshanks"

A grumpy looking ginger kitten squatted in the corner, glaring up at Lily, who took a hasty step back.

"Is the mother … nice?"

"Oh yes" he assured Lily. "She's very cuddly and incredibly smart"

"I'll take her" Lily decided, pulling out her money bag as the shop keeper scooped the cat out of the cage and into a carrying basket.

"Merry Christmas, miss!" the wizard said, waving them out of the shop.

"What're you going to call her?" Marlene wanted to know.

Lily looked through the gaps in the wicker to gaze at her new cat. "Artie" she said softly.

"After?-"

"Yeah"

"Well, you have a present for James now" Marlene said briskly, trying to lighten up the mood. "Who's up for butterbeers at the Cackling Stump?"

When Lily swept through the door, she heard a rustling noise coming from the living room and poked her head round the corner to see James wrestling with a roll of wrapping paper.

"Honey, I'm home?" she said, quickly pulling her head back.

"Don't come in!"

There was some panicked sounding crackling, and Lily smiled, leaning back against the closed door and dropping her parcels around her feet. She'd picked up a new multi-volume study on lycanthropy for Remus's present, a whole sack of Zonkos' pranks and tricks for Peter, and a new leather motor cycle jacket for Sirius, who'd complained bitterly after his old one was was destroyed while he was on a mission for the Order.

She'd picked up some smaller gifts for James – some things from Zonkos', a small Spy Glass - and several pairs of plain woolly socks.

 _ **Thanks for reading!**_

 _ **A.N. So obviously I blatantly ripped off 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' and my lyrics**_ **suck _but hey, I tried._  
**

 _ **AND OMG HOW ARE Y'ALL READING THIS WITHOUT YOUR TEETH ROTTING, IT'S SO FLUFFY IDK WHAT I'M DOING**. _


	4. I'll Be Home For Christmas

_**Disclaimer... these characters belong to JKR**_

 _ **A.N. This section includes an OC from**_ **A Rise and Fall,** ** _but hopefully it'll still make sense to everyone. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the reviews._**

 _December 15th, 1978_

"D'you remember where we were one year ago?" Lily murmured, turning her head so it rested on James's chest. The lights were out – but the snowy moon cast a sliver of silver across their bed, dividing it in half. Lily traced her finger down the moon-line.

James laughed quietly, and Lily could feel his chest rumble beneath her ear. "We were in the Common Room, probably, and we might have been doing homework, before checking that no one was around and sneaking off to a broom cupboard"

Moving her hand, she hit him lightly. "Idiot. We weren't even together last Christmas"

"Merlin. We haven't even been together for a year and we're already married. You must've swept me off my feet"

"Of course I did" Lily snuggled back under the blanket and rubbed her cold nose on James's shoulder.

Their bedroom took up half the second story, and the roof was sloped in such a way that if James sat up too suddenly in the morning he'd crack his head on the low ceiling. The cottage was on the outskirts of the village and within sight of the old Potter mansion, where James had grown up and his parents had died.

It had been a wedding present from Euphemia and Fleamont, and their way of keeping their son and his new bride close. They could've afforded much larger, but the older couple seemed to sense that they'd prefer this small cosy gingerbread house of a home.

Another guest bedroom lay across the narrow corridor, and Remus sometimes stayed there when he wasn't on missions for the Order. On the floors, there were thick, plush carpets that used to fly, at least according to the magical artefacts dealer that they'd bought them from, and in the corner of the living room, their Christmas tree sat, sparkling. The ornament with their memories lit the branches like moonlight.

James could see the soft glow of Christmas lights on the neighbouring houses through the window, and snow covered the windowsill.

"You're my _wife_ " James said suddenly, remembering and grinning.

"Did you forget?"

"No – no, it's just – sometimes it just hits me. We're _married_. We live in a _house_ and we're doing adult things, like decorating for Christmas and buying each other Christmas presents and making dinner"

"How adult" Lily said dryly, gazing up at the ceiling.

"You know what would be even more adult?"

Lily could hear the smirk in his voice and quickly back-tracked. "I'm too cold" she complained.

"I'll warm you up"

"Go away"

"Nope"

" _Fine_ "

She rolled so she was tucked more securely into his side, and gazed out the window at the neighbour's Christmas decorations. One of the wizarding houses had put a huge tree in their garden and draped it with ornately carved icicles. It had become quite the display – the family had added a miniature skating rink with an ice ballerina slowly rotating in the centre, and the house had been charmed (or, as they claimed, _painted_ ) to look like a gigantic gingerbread house.

There was a faint sound – Lily could've sworn it was jingle bells. "D'you hear that?" she asked James.

"What?"

"Shh"

A second later, it came again. Jingle bells. Then there was a heavy sounding 'thump' on their roof, and a few lighter footsteps.

"Please tell me that's one of the boys trying to prank us" Lily whispered, sitting bolt upright. The blankets fell about her waist and she lunged for her wand on the bed side table. Without making a noise, James reached over her for his own wand and rolled out of bed.

"Stay here, please Lily" he whispered.

"Fuck that"

The two of them tiptoed to the door, opening it just a crack. Lily could see silvery wand light approaching them, and squinted towards the intruder.

"Can you see who it is?" James asked, breath stirring on her skin.

Lily shook her head silently, leaning back against the door.

She held up three fingers and dropped one. James nodded as she folded the other ones down, and yanked open the door.

" _Petrificus Totalus!"_ Lily shrieked, and a bolt of red leapt from her wand, only to be cast aside by a shield charm.

"Stop – s _top_!" the person yelled. It was a familiar sounding voice, and James bit back his own spell, but kept his wand raised.

"It's me – Camilla Lovegood"

Lily just about dropped her wand, but she clenched her jaw and her wand didn't waver. As if sensing how much she wanted to sprint down the hallway, James took her free hand in his own, but didn't say anything.

"What position did you play on the Gryffindor Quidditch team?" James called.

"Seeker"

"Too general" Lily said immediately, wand at the ready. "What was the rule we made in second year?"

"That we'd always tell the others when we had a date" the woman at the end of the corridor said without hesitating.

"It's her" Lily murmured to James, dropping her wand and staring into the darkness.

A slender figure stepped forward slowly and dropped the hood of her robes.

A pale, delicate face stared at Lily, eyes and hair dark.

"Cami?" Lily whispered.

The girl nodded once, and then again, more rapidly, like she was convincing herself.

Lily leapt forward and pulled the girl into a tight hug, feeling slim arms wrap around her and a pointed chin dig into her shoulder. It had been sixth months since she last saw her friend.

"Cami what happened? We haven't heard from you since graduation…"

"I know – I'm so sorry – but you know what happened, I couldn't come back"

"I know" Lily said pulling away but still holding Camilla by the shoulders. "I know"

Her friend smiled tremulously as James gave her a hug as well.

"Merry Christmas Lily. I missed you both"

"Merry Christmas Cami" Lily whispered.

Later, in the living room, cradling goblets of mulled mead, they talked.

"Little Alice convinced me to come back" Camilla said, smiling to herself slightly. "She's all grown up – already engaged and only seventeen"

Lily and James traded glances at that.

"Her boy, Frank Longbottom's in the Order"

"We know" James told her.

"Of course, you would"

"How long are you here for Cami?" Lily asked eagerly, already imagining Christmas dinner with their old friends around the table.

"Just for a week –I'll stay for Christmas before I'm off again"

The lights from the Christmas tree illuminated her pale face and Lily could see her smile slip off her face when she thought Lily and James couldn't see.

"You'll stay with us?" James said, smiling at her.

"If you'll have me"

"'Course we will, Cami. We've missed you"

The smile came back for real then, and Lily had forgotten just how beautiful her friend was. Her dark swan-eyes sparkled and her teeth gleamed white. There were a few silver bells woven through her hair, and when she nodded, they jingled.

 _ **Thanks for reading!**_


	5. Sledding

_**Disclaimer... these characters belong to JKR**_

* * *

 _December 16th, Godric's Hollow  
_

* * *

There was a crash from downstairs. And another. Then there was some cursing. Lily slapped a hand to her forehead, groaning, and yanked at the pillow until it covered her face. The banging continued.

Sighing, she sat up and felt around on the floor with her feet until they hit her fuzzy slippers. She looked at the clock. 8:30. It was still novel to be able to sleep in – neither James nor she worked, at least not officially – and she got to sleep as long as she wanted.

They'd promised Dumbledore that they'd take a break from the Order, at least over Christmas, and even though it drove Lily mad at times, she was glad to be here, alone with James.

A particularly noisy crash rose up the stairs and Lily grabbed her dressing gown, wrapping it around herself tightly before venturing down into the kitchen.

"- _fuck_ , Merlin's shrivelled left-"

"Good morning dear" Lily said mildly.

Half of James's torso was stuck in the cupboard, although it was far too small to contain him. Technically, they weren't supposed to use Undetectable Extension Charms, according to their insurance policy, but it was a small house and they needed space. Lily had Confunded the last Muggle who remarked on the fact that their home was bigger on the inside.

"Erm – good morning darling"

James kicked his legs in an effort to pull himself out of the cupboard.

"What're you looking for?" she asked, crossing to the teapot and pouring herself a cup. She took a small sip, smiling to herself. It was a spicy Christmas blend that Marlene had given them and she could taste the warmth of cinnamon and a hint of orange.

"The sled" James told her, voice muffled.

"Ah"

Lily leant back against the counter and considered the view. James's flannel pyjama pants were sitting low on his hips and the more he struggled trying to get out, the lower they slid.

"Want some help?" she asked after a minute or two, setting her mug down.

There was a hollow sort of thump, like James had whacked his head on something in annoyance.

"That would be _lovely_ , dearest"

"Alright darling"

It had begun as a bit of a joke – them mocking the fifth years and their sappy pet names, and then it just turned into their _thing_.

"D'you want to get out of the cupboard? I'd probably fit better"

There was another thud and Lily winced.

" _Yes,_ I want to get out of the cupboard"

"Alright, alright, calm down"

She reached up and wrapped her arms around his waist, tugging tentatively.

"Ouch"

"Sorry"

"S'ok"

"How are you stuck?" she asked, pulling a bit harder.

"My – ouch – shoulders"

Lily let go of him and pulled out her wand from the pocket in her purple dressing gown.

"Close your eyes" she said, and he responded, sounding panicked. "Close my – Lily what are you doing? Lily?"

He kicked at the counter under his feet.

"Just close them" she said, exasperated.

"Fine"

Placing the tip of her wand on the cupboard opening, she took a deep breath.

" _Reducto_ " she breathed, moving it gently and feeling power surge through her. She held it in check, just carving the edges away gently.

"'Reducto'?" James yelped, and Lily very nearly broke her concentration, but she closed her eyes and kept going.

"James" she said, gritting her teeth. "Shut up, love"

James shut up.

It took maybe five minutes before she'd carved out enough of the wood to free James, and the two stood and stared in silence at the James-shaped hole.

"Nice wand work" he offered, stealing a sip of her tea.

"Shut up and give me a boost"

He helped her onto the counter and stood back while Lily stuck her head in the dark crawlspace, lighting her wand.

She spotted the old wooden sled fairly easily – it had been James's when he was a child – and yanked on it until she and it both came sliding out. Something soft caught her, and she looked up at James who was looking down at her with some concern.

"How was my Cushioning Charm?"

"You didn't try to catch me?"

James scoffed. "We both know that would've gone badly"

Grumbling, Lily pulled herself up and shoved the sled into the corner and went to start breakfast.

* * *

Camilla was sleeping in – she'd had a long trip, and James and Lily tried to keep quiet as they bundled themselves into warm clothes.

"Your ears are sticking out" James told her, and carefully pulled her fuzzy woollen hat down farther, before leaning in and kissing her on the nose.

Lily tugged her hat back up, scowling. "Did you just kiss me on the _nose_ , Potter?"

"Yes I did, _Potter_ "

She sniffed. "It sounds weird when you say your own name in such a disparaging tone"

"Help me with the sled"

Lily grinned and bounced up on her toes to kiss him on the nose, before grabbing the sled and trundling out the door.

Outside, it had snowed again, and Lily revelled in the feeling of the freezing air on her warm skin, James's strong hand around hers. She loved these mornings. When the two of them felt alone in a world of their own making, silence surrounding them. Their banter drifted away like the snowflakes as James dropped the sled into the soft powder and spun Lily around before pulling her into a kiss.

She placed her mittened hands on his rosy cheeks and laughed softly against his mouth as he tripped on a clump of snow and went down, still kissing Lily.

Snowflakes melted into their kiss, ice water streaming down their cheeks like tears and freezing again once they dripped off. He pulled her closer, the sled forgotten.

"I really really love you" Lily whispered, parting for a second to breath.

"Good" James smiled at her. His glasses were hanging off his nose and she pushed them back up gently. "I really really love you too"

James looked up at her. In that moment, Lily was all extremes. Her hair was rubies against the diamonds of the snow and her eyes were emeralds. She was a collection of jewels, all laid out on the frozen ground, and he was hers.

"Are we gonna go sledding?" she whispered, and James laughed. Her low, breathy voice was a bit of a contrast to what she'd just said.

"Yep" he said. He sat up, Lily in his lap and the two of them clambered out of the snow bank.

James tugged at Lily's hand as they struggled up a steep hill, wallowing in the deep snow.

"This is where I went sledding when I was a kid. There's not many kids in the village now"

"Maybe there will be soon". Lily sounded very far away, and James froze.

"Lily?" he asked gently. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

"What? I'm not pregnant, you idiot, I'm eighteen. I'm not having a baby at _eighteen_ "

"You got married at eighteen" he pointed out.

"Against my better judgement"

They started up the hill again, James feeling curiously relieved. He wanted to be a dad one day. Of _course_ he wanted to be a dad one day. But – was it so bad that he didn't really want to share Lily quite yet?

"Liar" he told her. "You were thrilled to marry me, I'm a fucking delight"

"True" she admitted, holding his hand a little tighter as they reached the top of the hill.

James turned the sled around till it was facing down, and held the back as Lily climbed on.

"Ready?"

"Ready" she confirmed, grabbing the rope.

James gave it a quick shove before hopping on the back and wrapping his arms around his wife. She was laughing with delight and James felt like he was flying again as she turned around and kissed him quickly.

The trees in their coats of snow sparkled, and icicles caught rainbows and flung them against Lily's hair, catching snowflakes in their light and making them gleam like molten silver.

"Merry Christmas Lily" he told her.

* * *

 ** _A.N. Thanks for reading! I'm sort of drowning you in chapters, whoops. There'll be one more up today and then I'll get back to daily posting._**


	6. Icing Disasters

**_Disclaimer... these characters belong to JKR_**

* * *

 _December 17th, Godric's Hollow_

* * *

The cottage's small kitchen had turned into a disaster area, and Lily stared with poorly concealed horror at the mounds of sticky colourful candies, bowls of garish icing, and spatters of lumpy-looking biscuit dough. Sirius, Remus, Peter and James were sitting in the middle of it, looking despondent. Peter's mousy brown hair had streaks of neon green frosting through it and there was a tray of burnt biscuits on the stove.

Lily couldn't help but smile at the sight of them. _Her boys_. They were boys still, only eighteen and wearing ugly Christmas jumpers that were covered in flour and powdered sugar. James was wearing a pair of fuzzy antlers on his head, and they were strung with tinsel and silver jingle bells that he'd charmed to play various Christmas carols. He'd been wearing them round the house for days and Lily had just managed to stop herself from chucking them in the bin once they appeared.

They were all so _young_ and Lily realized, faintly startled that she probably appeared that way to them too. But they'd always be her boys, at least to her, even when they were grown up properly with children of their own.

There appeared to be a mixing bowl stuck firmly to the ceiling, and she pointed her wand at it automatically, detaching it so it floated down gently to land on a counter with a gentle metallic noise.

"What-" she started, and tried again. "What happened?"

"We made biscuits" Sirius said proudly. A gob of icing in his hair detached itself and fell to his jumper-clad shoulder. He didn't seem to notice.

"We _tried_ to" Remus corrected, sounding rather sad.

"Have any of you ever actually made biscuits?" Lily asked, shooting a few quick Cleaning Spells off at the worst of the mess and setting down the bags of shopping in her hands.

"I used to help my mum with her Christmas baking" Peter told her happily.

"How long ago was this, Peter?"

"Maybe nine or ten years ago"

"Right"

Lily hopped over a puddle of glittery silver icing and tried to catch James's eye, but he was staring resolutely at the icing-spotted ceiling and humming something under his breath. It sounded like Jingle Bells. His bell-bedecked antlers rang along merrily to his humming.

"James?" she said, a bit louder and crossed her arms.

The humming got louder, until Peter whacked his shoulder with a burnt, blackened biscuit and pointed at Lily.

"Oh – Lily. Hello dearest" he said.

"Good afternoon darling" Lily replied, smiling.

"I promise I'll clean it all up" James assured her.

"Of course you will"

Lily reached into the fridge to grab a jug of eggnog, before skirting the rest of the mess and heading into the living room to read.

* * *

"Calm down" James ordered from his perch on top of the flour covered table. "Sirius, stop animating the gingerbread biscuits for Merlin's sake, and Peter get down from there, they're not going to hurt you"

Sirius was crouched over a tray of blackened gingerbread people, tapping them with his wand and watching with interest as they peeled themselves off the tray and started to scurry around the kitchen floor. Peter reluctantly slipped off the counter and crushed one under his boot.

"Murderer" Sirius complained, rather shrilly, tapping another biscuit so it rose up.

Remus brushed ineffectively at his lumpy red and green jumper, scattering flour over the panicked gingerbread people.

" _Scourgify"_ he said, waving his wand briskly, and heaps of flour vanished, icing was wiped away as if by an invisible cloth and all the gingerbread people fell down and were swept into the rubbish bin.

"Thank you Remus" James said, hopping down from the table with a certain measure of dignity. "I'll go inform my wife that I've cleaned the kitchen"

He found Lily leaning against the kitchen door, head cocked with interest. She had a glass of eggnog in her hand and took a hasty gulp as James looked at her, starting to cough.

"Kitchen's clean" he told her lightly.

"Cool. What was Sirius _doing_?"

"Bringing gingerbread biscuits to life"

"'course he was" she sighed.

Lily followed James into the kitchen and looked around, pleased. It was practically sparkling, and the boys were sitting at the round table sedately, mugs of tea in front of them.

"Your Cleaning Spell's gotten better, Remus" she told him, impressed.

"Thanks"

"Right" she said, clapping her hands. "Are we going to bake biscuits or nah?"

* * *

Under Lily's supervision, they baked five trays of chewy sugar biscuits – biscuit witches with pointed hats raising wands, and James's personal favourite shape – the Christmas reindeer. There were fat Christmas trees and delicate snowflakes that Lily carefully iced in lacy silver and blue and white and there was even a Christmas rat wearing a crown that Peter seized upon delightedly.

The new icing was stiffer, the colours more subtle, and it all gleamed faintly. James caught Lily waving her wand above one of the bowls about halfway through the icing endeavour.

"Aha!" he proclaimed. "So it's not just innate icing skill, you're _charming_ them"

He got a spoonful of gold icing flicked over his reindeer jumper for that remark, and Lily settled back at the table smugly, using her wand to direct icing over a Christmas tree cookie.

The bowls of small silver marbles and tiny flakes of coloured sugar were being quickly depleted, and James pointed his wand at them, filling them back up before he sat down.

It was a little too warm in the kitchen, and Lily was the only one of them not covered in frosting, but it felt safe. It felt like home, and James kicked Sirius's ankle under the table and grinned at him, and pulled Lily to him and kissed her, purposefully getting icing in her red hair, and threw a biscuit at Remus and ruffled Peter's hair and knew he was among his family.

* * *

 ** _A.N. And that's it for today! I'll be back tomorrow! Thanks for reading, and please review._**


	7. Back To Reality

**_Disclaimer... these characters belong to JKR_**

* * *

 _18th of December  
_

* * *

James leant against the kitchen doorframe, watching Lily. She was busy baking mince pies – lifting heaps of the filling with her wand and letting them drop into the pies with one hand and eating a spoonful of the mince with the other.

"Morning" she said without looking up, and James grinned to himself. The first time it had happened he had bounded across the kitchen to kiss her, laughing to himself as she sputtered away. He'd thought that Lily had just learned to anticipate his every move; she'd had to explain that there was a loose floorboard right by the kitchen door that creaked when you stepped on it.

"Where's Camilla?" he asked.

Lily shrugged, facing away from him, hands busy with the pies. "Dunno. She has a lot of people to catch up with"

"I was in town today, getting those potions ingredients you wanted-"

"Nice, did you manage to find the salamander eyeballs? There's been a shortage and no one's been able to get a hold of any for love or money"

James sighed at her. "Yes, but that's not the point. The _point_ is I got pickpocketed in Muggle London and I had to Confund a cabbie to get a lift home"

He had to stop talking again, because Lily was cackling. She dropped her wand in the bowl of mince, causing a few sparks that smelt like cinnamon, still laughing helplessly.

"You" she started, clutching her stomach. "Got _pickpocketed_ "

"Yes"

"You absolute _idiot_ "

"Thank you dear"

"Sorry" she straightened up and retrieved her wand. "That's truly dreadful James, I'm deeply sorry"

He raised an eyebrow and Lily blinked at him innocently, stepping across the kitchen to wind her arms around his neck and tug him down until their mouths met.

"Mm. You're forgiven" he told her, threading his fingers through her long hair. It smelt like cinnamon and cloves and sugar.

"Good" Lily smiled against his lips.

"And the getting-pickpocketed wasn't the point either" James informed her, still holding her gently around the waist.

"What was the point?"

"The _point_ is that there's going to be a Christmas parade – a Muggle one, obviously – tonight, and I thought we could go"

A soft smile curled her lips and James itched to trace it with his fingers, making her smile harder and blush a bit.

"That sounds lovely. My parents used to take me to Christmas parades, before Hogwarts"

"Wonderful" James smiled, taking advantage of her distraction to reach round her and grab one of the hot mince pies just out of the oven.

* * *

Snow was falling lightly when they stepped out of their cottage that evening, and they had dug out their old red-and-gold Gryffindor scarves, thinking that they'd be appropriately festive. James was wearing a truly awful Christmas jumper that Mrs Prewett had made for him two or three Christmases ago, and Lily had found a bright green knit hat that clashed terribly with her red hair. Camilla had come back from wherever she was, in time to come with them, and had found a long toque with a bobble that bounced against the small of her back.

"We look horrendous" James said with some satisfaction as he tossed the Invisibility Cloak over them.

"Jolly with a vengeance" Camilla agreed, gripping Lily's arm tightly. She'd always been better at Disapperation than both Camilla and James, so when they used the Cloak, she normally Side-Alonged them.

There was a crack, on that cold winter night, but it was muffled by the snow and no one noticed.

They reappeared in a dark alleyway, the sound of Christmas carols drifting through the foggy air. There was laughing and the sound of jingle bells and the three of them smiled at each other, still invisible.

With a tug, the Cloak slid off them and they stepped out of the alley arm in arm, Lily in the middle.

* * *

The reindeer that someone had found to pull 'Santa's' sleigh looked despondent. Their coats were patchy and they seemed to stumble, rather than walk. Their antlers were tangled in coloured Christmas lights and seemed too heavy for their heads.

"I should free them" James whispered at the red and gilt sleigh passed by.

" _No_ " Lily said firmly, keeping a tight grip on his arm.

"But they look so sad. And I'm one of them, it would be like be leaving Remus, Peter and Sirius locked up"

"James darling, you're not a reindeer. Your Animagus form just _happens_ to be a normal deer. Now quit pouting in solidarity for your fallen brethren. Also, Camilla doesn't know about your – furry – _gang –_ so shhh"

As they were having their whispered conversation, there was a scream. It sounded like a child – high pitched and fearful, and for a second it sounded strangely familiar to Lily. Her throat felt like it was closing. She shook her head, dispelling whatever strange moment of déjà vu had just occurred.

James, Lily and Camilla's hands automatically jumped to their wand pockets as they whipped their heads around, searching for the source.

"There" Camilla whispered, pointing. Lily saw it right away, and her fingers dug into her friend's arm. James squinted for a moment, before realizing that she was pointing at the stars. An emerald skull, etched in the stars hung beside a sickle moon and beside it - a small shape hovered fifty feet above them, almost invisible but for the bright red coat that the child wore. As they stared, the child started to fall.

She didn't speak, and she'd never been good at nonverbal spells, but Lily's charm shot briskly from her wand, landing in a shimmering mass below the falling child. As Muggles around them started to scream in horror, some rushing forwards, others away, the child fell – and was gently let down to the ground. It was a little girl, and Lily threaded through the crowd as her Cushioning Charm faded and pulled the child to her feet.

"Thank you" the little girl whimpered, too terrified for tears. Lily smiled, squeezed her hand and quickly darted away as she saw a pair of people that could only be the child's parents shoving their way through the crowd.

Camilla pulled her out of the crowd, hugging her quickly.

"You ok?" she asked quietly.

Lily nodded, glad that her friend was there.

"Lily!" James reached her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"M'fine – James, you're squishing me"

"Sorry, sorry. Lily, it's the _Dark Mark_ "

There were more screams coming from farther down the parade, which had stopped in confusion, and the three of them traded glances before heading towards the disturbance.

"Fuck" Lily whispered, spotting a black cloak. "D'you think they've killed anyone? This is bold, even for them"

"How many?" James asked briskly, stowing the Clock up his sleeve.

"One, two, three – I see four. Four at least" Camilla said.

"We can do four"

"Not in a crowd full of Muggles, we can't" Lily argued. "We'll get done for breaking the Statue of Secrecy"

"We'll be fine with the Ministry" Camilla told her. "I saw 'Lena today, her mum's been promoted. She'll take care of it"

"Gorillas" James said slowly.

" _Gorillas_? James, what the fuck, are you drunk?"

"No" he told her indignantly. "Gorilla warfare – we sneak in and hex them quickly without any one seeing. No sportsmanlike duels"

Lily started to laugh helplessly, muffling her snorts in her scarf. " _Guerrilla_ warfare, James, _guerrilla_ "

Camilla cackled, her hat flapping in the chill breeze. "Nice try James"

"Oh"

"Ok" Lily said, palming her wand, all business again. "This'll work. Cami and I'll lure one into an alley and dispose of him before coming to help you"

"How're you gonna-?" he started to ask, but she let out a panicked squeak and gave him a shove before pulling at Camilla and ducking away into the crowd. Camilla waved back at him.

James hid behind a rather fat man before reaching round him to aim his wand at one of the oblivious Death Eaters.

" _Impedimenta_ " James whispered, and closed his eyes. He hoped that the flash of red light would just be put down to Christmas lights. When he looked up, the Death Eater was frozen in his tracks.

James hurried forwards, wrapping an arm around the large, cloaked figure and tucking a hand in the Death Eater's pocket to pull out their wand. He pressed his wand to the Death Eater's back and muttered a Jelly-Legs Jinx, grinning in satisfaction as they went limp. They only struggled a bit, leaning on James. They were very heavy.

"Sorry" he said loudly to a passing woman. "My cousin's had a few too many, don't mind him"

The woman in question looked up at him, and nodded and smiled as James steered the Death Eater away. He spotted Lily and Camilla leaning against a wall, a Stunned Death Eater at their feet, but Lily broke into a grin when she spotted James.

"Good job dear! You've got a Death Eater on a leash. Mine was too easy, he let me disarm him"

James pulled back his hood to reveal a pale, sickly looking man who snarled at Lily, and Lily sneered right back before levelling her wand and Stunning him quickly.

"Two down" James said, shoving the Death Eater over and pocketing his wand.

"Two to go" Camilla said seriously, before grinning brightly at the two of them. "This is great, I feel like a T.V. cop"

James rolled his eyes at the two beaming girls and they headed into the crowd again. It had thinned considerably, people streaming off in droves towards the side streets and their parked cars, and the parade floats had disappeared. Perhaps children falling from the sky had quelled their festive urges.

Only a few Muggles remained, and the two Death Eaters, looking around for their fellows.

"Evening!" Lily said brightly, detaching herself from James. "I was wondering if you gentlemen would like to donate to St James's fund for disadvantaged children? We're having a Christmas fund raiser and I can offer you a whole table for six at a very reasonable rate"

Camilla snorted but managed to turn it into a cough.

"Shove off" one of the Death Eaters said in a growly voice, and Lily blinked, crossing her arms.

"That's not in keeping with the Christmas spirit, you know" she said sternly, before sending a silvery spell at the closest Death Eater in a whip-like movement of her arm. A deep gash opened across his chest, spilling blood down his black robes and into the slowly melting snow.

" _Silencio_ " she hissed, as he opened his mouth to shout, or curse her.

Camilla quickly disarmed the bleeding Death Eater as James Stunned the other one that was stumbling back in shock.

"I'll send a Patronus to the Order" Lily said, glancing around carefully. James and Camilla levitated both of the Death Eaters and they ducked back into the alley.

"I hope Gideon's on clean up duty" James said.

" _Gideon Prewett_ isn't officially in the Order, and anyways, he's at Hogwarts studying for exams. Also his mother would kill you if you dragged him out into Muggle London at ten thirty"

"Right"

Lily's doe stepped out of her wand as graceful as ever, and blinked at James slowly. Watching Lily do magic – it was beautiful and wonderful. Even the simplest household charm looked like complex witchcraft when she did it, and watching her cast a Patronus was mesmerizing. First her elbow lifted slowly and her wrist extended, and then she closed her eyes and whispered something to herself, smiling, and then the sliver smoke tripped out of her wand and coalesced into the doe.

Lily whispered her message to the doe and sent her on her way before turning to James and Camilla and smiling at them.

"Excellent work Mr Potter and Camilla" she smiled, tucking her arm in the crook of James's elbow.

Camilla bowed gracefully. "You have an excellent wife" she told James. He smiled at her. "I know Cami". He turned to Lily.

"Excellent work Mrs Potter"

"Thanks James"

"Merry Christmas guys"

* * *

 ** _A.N. Thanks for reading! Please review, and Merry Christmas!_**


	8. Baby, It's Cold Outside

_**Disclaimer... these characters belong to JKR**_

* * *

 _19th of December  
_

* * *

"James, what are we going to do today?"

"I would suggest some festive activity but we took down four Death Eaters last night when we were _off duty_ and I think we deserve a break"

Lily pulled the blankets up tighter around her shoulders and tipped over until she was leaning against James, her feet propped on the ottoman that she'd levitated to rest in front of the couch.

"We're never off duty" she pointed out. "'s the problem with a war. You're always fighting"

"Have you eaten anything yet?" James asked her, slipping his arm round her and ignoring her comment.

"Nope"

"You should"

"Not hungry"

"Sick?"

"Maybe. My nose is stuffy"

"Want some tea?"

"Please"

James detangled himself from the pile of blankets that Lily had dragged down from their bed to the couch and headed towards the kitchen, nearly bumping into a half-asleep Camilla who was wrapped in sheets and clutching a mug of tea in her slim white hands.

"Morning Cami" Lily yawned, and Camilla flapped the corner of her sheet in a friendly sort of way.

It was still snowing, something that Lily took childish delight in, and the house was very quiet. It seemed like the three of them existed in a cocoon, apart from the war, the terror, the loss and pain and horror. There was snow and light and love, and that was enough, at least for a little while. Lily half wished she could make it last forever, but she knew herself well enough by now to realize that she wasn't a person that would do very well in peacetime, with nothing to fight for.

Camilla collapsed across the ottoman dramatically and Lily shuffled her feet automatically until they were lying across Cami's stomach. She had fallen back into their lives so easily. But then, Lily remembered, they hadn't really been apart for very long. Six months, and that felt like a lifetime.

There had been graduation and a proposal and a wedding, and they had all joined the Order. Their housemates and younger friends still at Hogwarts kept them updated on the student sentiment about the war, and the group of them patrolled and fought and snuck around snatching Death Eaters. It wasn't exactly the glamorous work that Lily had imagined – (in that half-ignored part of her mind, she'd thought working for the Order would have a lot more time for running through the woods dramatically, her hair whipping out behind her as she took down the Death Eaters single-handedly), it was mostly creeping through grotty alley ways and spying on prospective Death Eaters, but it was work all the same, and they were fighting, which was all Lily had ever wanted.

"Herbal or black?" James called from the kitchen, and Lily shook her head, dispelling the cobwebs and snowflakes.

"Herbal, thanks"

"I propose a lazy day" Camilla said. Her voice was faintly muffled by the sheet lying across her face and Lily used her toe to shove it away.

"Thanks – _eww_ Lily, when was the last time you washed those socks?"

Lily wiggled her toes contemplatively.

"I dunno. I think they were James's but they're really cosy so I stole them"

"They _stink_ "

"They might've been his Quidditch socks" Lily told her, moving her feet away.

"Eurgh"

"But getting back to the subject at hand" Lily said hastily. "A lazy day sounds wonderful. We can make paper snowflakes"

James returned from the kitchen with a tray containing a mug of tea and a plate of buttered toast.

"I didn't know we had a tray" Lily said, settling it across her lap.

"We didn't" James said proudly. "I turned a plate square"

"Nice work"

The three of them lapsed into sleepy silence, Camilla and Lily sipping their tea and James staring out the window.

"D'you think the neighbours would notice if I levitated the snow off our path instead of shovelling it?"

"Yes" Lily said firmly. "Yes they would. You know Mrs Yartly, she's a nosy old bat, always peering out the window at us, and we all do shoddy Memory Charms"

"Physical labour" James said gloomily.

Camilla rolled off the ottoman onto the floor and peered up at James through her tangle of blue hair.

"You haven't played Quidditch in ages, a bit of physical labour wouldn't harm you"

"Are you saying I'm fat?" James asked indignantly. "I am not fat"

"Of course not" Camilla said soothingly. "But exercise is important"

Lily snorted into her tea and prodded James in the side. "She's right, get up. The shovel's in the cupboard"

"Why do we keep everything in the cupboard?" James demanded. "It's not practical and I always get stuck"

"I didn't want to put Extension Charms on everything and the cupboard was sort of awkward enough that no one would look in it on purpose" Lily explained, prodding him some more.

Sighing, James fought his way out of the nest of blankets again and went to get his coat.

"Ah, marriage" Lily said, comfortably snuggled into the corner of the sofa. "It's like having a house elf, except you get to kiss them"

"D'you have something against cross species relationships?" Camilla asked. She rolled over on the floor again until she was well and truly wrapped up in her sheet. She looked a bit like a burrito.

"Not exactly" Lily hummed. "But, if it was like a centaur and a human that might be tricky. Would the baby have hoofs instead of hands and feet but be otherwise human?"

"I think they'd have a horse head" Camilla said ponderously.

"Oh of course. How silly of me"

"Lily it's _nearly Christmas_ " Cami interrupted her own train of thought. For a second, smiling down at Camilla on the carpet, Lily could see the black eyed, black haired girl she'd met on the first day of Hogwarts. She'd seemed so small and flighty, her pale skin delicate, her voice fluttery. But she was one of the strongest people Lily knew, and she wore her physical fragility like armour.

"It is" Lily agreed, starting to grin.

Camilla wormed her arm out of her sheet and pointed her wand at the wireless.

It sprang to life with a hiss before the Christmas carols started coming through loudly.

Lily listened for a second, head cocked before frowning down at Cami.

"Is this a Muggle station?"

"My sister's started to – embrace – Muggle culture"

"I really can't stay" Lily sang softly, staring out the window. She couldn't see James, but then she heard footsteps in the hallway and started to smile as she heard his voice follow hers.

"Baby, it's cold outside" he smiled at her.

"I've got to go way…"

"Baby, it's cold outside"

"The evening has been-"

"I've been hoping that you'd drop in"

(By this point, Camilla was staring at them in what appeared to be disgust.)

"So very nice…"

"I'll hold your hand, they're just like ice"

Lily trailed off as he shed his coat and came to sit by her on the sofa.

"I'm leaving" Camilla said, rolling around until she could get her feet under herself. "Honestly, you two are the sappiest, lamest people I've ever met"

"Thanks Cami" Lily said, gazing at James and leaning closer. "How do you even know Muggle Christmas carols?" she whispered to him, the song still playing softly in the background.

"You know, our radio can be tuned to Muggle stations. It's not some fancy spell"

"Oh"

"Merry Christmas Lily"

"I'm not saying it back till the 24th"

"That's alright" James told her seriously. "I'll just say it for the both of us"

* * *

 _ **A.N. Well that was gross. Lyrics are from 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' by**_ ** _Frank Loesser. Just as a full disclaimer, I actually don't really like the song cause it has a implied lyric about drugging the girl? ("Say, what's in this drink?') but it worked well for this, so eh. Stay safe kids, and don't drink suspicious things._**

 ** _Please review!_**


	9. Till The Snows Melt

_**Disclaimer... these characters belong to JKR**_

* * *

 _20th of December  
_

* * *

"I'm very fond of snow" Lily announced that afternoon, nose pressed to the window.

"I'm glad" James said absently, nose buried in the Prophet. There had been a Ministry raid last night and the Aurors had captured two Death Eaters. Their trial would be tomorrow – the Ministry wanted them in Azkaban as soon as possible.

"We should build _snowmen_ " Lily continued, oblivious to her husband's distraction.

"Mm"

"Something the matter?" she asked, turning around from the window beside the kitchen table.

James was frowning deeply, eyes stuck on the paper.

"Oh – no. D'you think these Death Eaters stand a chance of getting off?"

"Course not" Lily reassured him, moving to stand behind him and resting her hands on his shoulders. "It'll be fine, I think everyone's taking the war more seriously these days"

"I hope so"

They stood quietly for a moment, Lily leaning forwards to sling her arms round James's shoulder and pressing a kiss to the crook of his neck. Lily had never hated the Death Eaters as much as she did then. They shouldn't have to feel scared all the time. They shouldn't have to wake up screaming for friends that had been tortured or killed, or from the fear that it might happen again.

But in their home, they were safe. It was a fragile illusion of safety, she knew, but it was comforting all the same, and she knew James felt it too.

"Alright" James said, turning his head to look up at her. "Let's build a snowman"

"Great, go get some carrots"

* * *

These were some of Lily's favourite types of days. The days when she and James were alone together, and doing stupid things like building snowmen. When they didn't have to worry, when they could lose themselves for a precious, imperfect hour in kisses and cold.

James shrieked as Lily flung a handful of snow at his uncovered face, and the snowman-making deteriorated into a snowball fight for ten minutes, until James snuck up behind her and dumped her in a snow bank before pulling her out and kissing her soundly.

She sputtered for a minute before shoving a ball of snow down the back of his jacket.

It took a while before they got back to snowman building.

* * *

Lily bent over sideways to peer at the snowman.

"His head's lumpy" she said critically.

"He? He? How d'you know they're a boy, Lily?"

" _Fine_. _Their_ head is lumpy"

"It is" James agreed, reaching out to pat the offending lump down. The snowman's head fell off and Lily winced.

"Oh dear"

James chased after the head and propped it back on.

It was a rather tipsy looking snowman – the lower body was leaning one way and the head another, the carrot nose was off on an angle, and the button smile was crooked, but James ignored it in favour of Lily's smile.

She was still a girl – not much older than the one he'd fell in love with. Her face was still rounded and young, her eyes sparkled and he never got tired of watching her smile.

"You're beautiful" James told her.

"I love you"

"I love you too"

"Should we make a wife for the snowman?"

"Seems only fair" he agreed. "Snowmen should get some action too"

Lily looked around nervously for a moment, before turning back to James. With a mischievous smirk, Lily pulled her wand out of her sleeve and waved it once. It was a gentle action, graceful and floating, and the snow on the ground around them lifted up and started to swirl like a small tornado, whirling and dancing like pale autumn leaves.

Lily was lost from James's sight for a moment, but he heard her laugh delightedly, and when the snow cleared, she was standing next to a pure white figure, exactly the same height as her. When James got closer, he realized who it was.

It was a snow Lily, features identical and delicately rendered in snow and ice. The ice-Lily's hand was stretched out, as if reaching for someone, and James touched her hand reverently.

"What d'you think?" Lily asked, beaming.

"I think you're a cheater for using magic, but the snow Lily is much prettier than the snowman"

"Shall I make a snow James?"

"Obviously, we can't have the snow Lily getting lonely, all out by herself in the cold"

Whatever spell Lily had done, she repeated, laughing quietly to herself as the cold flakes clumped and gathered and packed together until a copy of James stood frozen in the snow.

The snow James and the snow Lily were embracing, her outstretched hand cupped around his cheek and his arms around her waist. Their lips were a centimetre apart, caught in the moment immediately before, (or after) the kiss, and their eyes were closed, frosted ice eyelashes brushing the tops of their frozen cheeks.

"They're perfect" James said, reaching out to take the real Lily's hand.

She wrinkled her nose. "Bit narcissistic"

"Obviously, I was appreciating the craftsmanship, not the subject"

"Ahh"

They grinned at each other, only a few feet away from their frozen twins, and Lily stood on tiptoe to wind her arms around his neck and bury her face in James's ridiculously long scarf.

"You're warm" she murmured, shifting her face so she could kiss the corner of his mouth absently.

"Your nose is very cold"

"Mm hmm"

She seemed content to just rest there, for a while in his arms, holding him tight and being held close, cold and warm all at once. Neither of them had to say anything at all.

It was peaceful out there in the snow, and James wished he could stay there with her forever. Alone and in love, with snow copies of them locked in an embrace that would never end.

"They'll be there forever" James whispered in her ear.

"At least until the snows melt" Lily whispered back, sounding lazily content, but James shivered and looked at them and wondered how soon spring would come.

* * *

 ** _A.N. I hope you guys are enjoying these - if you are, I'd love a review._**


	10. Christmas Cards

**_Disclaimer...these characters belong to JKR_**

* * *

 _21st of December_

* * *

Lily may have gone slightly overboard. Maybe. Possibly. If she had, she wasn't going to admit it aloud. In front of her, on the kitchen table, was a stack of Christmas cards that must've been a foot high. Lily wasn't even sure that they knew that many people. She had put off the inevitable Christmas-card-writing for as long as she could, but she was a grown-up now, (it seemed to Lily that if you were a person that still said 'grown-up', you probably weren't one yourself) and it was the proper thing to do.

She was married, she had a house, and she was going to write Christmas cards.

"James?" she called, not looking away from the stack of cards.

"What?"

"I need some assistance"

"Is it assistance with taking a bath, cause I'm kinda cold and that sounds fun… Oh. You need help writing hundreds of cards" James poked his head through the kitchen door and made a face at Lily, who made an even worse once back.

"I'll make you a deal" she said, beckoning him closer. "We'll have a bath _after_ you help me with the Christmas cards"

James dithered on the threshold.

"I bought gingerbread scented bubble bath" Lily persuaded.

"Fine" he sighed, sliding across the floor in a pair of knit socks and dropping into a seat. "Who d'you want me to write to? "

Lily shoved two pieces of parchment across the table. "I've divided the list evenly" she said busily, "and I've drawn up a template of what you should write to people that're just acquaintances. We'll do the more personal ones together"

"There is such a thing as a duplicating charm" James told her, picking up a quill.

"It lacks that personal touch"

"Oh of course. How silly of me"

Without looking up from her stack of cards, Lily shoved a bottle of red and green alternating ink across the table. James had found it in Diagon Alley one day, and it alternated red letters with green ones.

He glanced at the template Lily had drawn up.

 _Dear Blank,_

 _Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It's been quite a year, and we hope you and your family are in good health. (Insert appropriate personal comment.) We're both doing very well, and enjoying our first Christmas together. Wishing you the very best,_

 _James and Lily_

"What sort of personal comment?" James asked.

"Something like – 'I hope Buster the dog got over his stomach infection!'"

"We don't know anyone with a dog called Buster"

"It was an example"

James consulted his list. "You've given me Slughorn, can I tell him that I hope he stops being a little bitch and joins the Order?"

"Nope" Lily said, busily writing. "Just tell him that you enjoyed his latest contribution to _Potions Pot_ "

"Alright"

They wrote in companionable silence for a while until Lily got up to fetch them a plate of mince pies and some eggnog.

"Eggnog is peculiar" James said, staring at his glass.

"Eggnog is _delicious_. Have you ever had eggnog in hot chocolate? It's amazing"

"That sounds really sweet?"

"It contains enough sugar to send a village into a diabetic coma but it's worth it" Lily told him, licking an envelope and sprinkling sand over an open card.

James was about halfway through his list and looked at Lily's tall stack of neatly addressed envelopes in amazement. She'd found thick creamy parchment envelopes printed with blue snowflakes and candy canes and it looked like her list was finished completely.

"Are you already done?" he asked.

"Mm hmm. I'm going to start Mary, Marlene's and Camilla's cards. I'll leave the boys for you and we can do the teachers together"

"Which teachers?"

"I thought we'd do Dumbledore and Minerva since they're both in the Order" Lily said, picking up a fresh Christmas card.

James shuddered. "I can't call her 'Minerva', she'll always be McGonagall to me"

"You used to call her 'Minnie" Lily said with a fond smile at him.

"We were in her Transfiguration class just six months ago"

"Aah memories"

Lily snorted at him and started to write, her hand writing neat and tightly controlled, every letter rounded perfectly. James craned his neck to read over her arm and ended up just propping his chin on her shoulder.

 _Dear Marlene,_

 _Merry Christmas! I know we saw each other last week and you're coming to stay for Christmas but I bought too many Christmas cards in a glitter-induced moment of weakness and I need to use them up because else my kitchen will have a pile of cards on the table for perpetuity. I hope you and your family are well, and I hope Sammie's enjoying Hogwarts so far. Christmas is so lovely there; I almost wish we were still at school. Except I have a_ house _and I'm_ married _and there's no homework so I think I'll stay here. Anyways, lots of love from both of us!_

 _Lily and James_

"How sweet" James told her. "'I bought too many Christmas cards, that's the only reason I'm sending this'"

"Yep" Lily said, sucking the end of her quill happily as she sprinkled sand over the wet ink and addressed the envelope. "Keep writing, we ought to have these all out today"

"Yes ma'am"

Lily pointed the quill at him. "You can forget the bath if you sass me anymore"

"Of course" James said hastily. "I'm sorry, my love, I didn't mean it"

She set down the quill and took his face between her palms to kiss him, before pulling away for a second and smiling at him in a pleased way. "That's a good one" she decided. "Make a note of it"

"Of course, I have a list of all the endearments you approve of"

Lily picked the quill up and James groaned quietly. His wrist was cramping. To buy himself some time, he took a few gulps of eggnog.

There was a whisper from Lily, and suddenly all the letters he still had to do were written and folded into neatly marked envelopes and piled at his elbow.

"Thanks" he told her, kissing her on the top of her head.

"Don't mention it, I'm cold too and that bath is sounding better and better"

"Merry Christmas, Lily"

"Don't push it, dear. I hold the power of the gingerbread bubble bath"

* * *

 _ **A.N. Thanks for reading!**_


	11. Mistletoe, Later

**_Disclaimer...these characters belong to JKR._**

* * *

 _22nd of December, 11978, Godric's Hollow_

* * *

A strand of greenery hung in front of Lily's face. She narrowed her eyes at it suspiciously and reached up to run her fingers over a snowy white berry. Mistletoe. Of course.

"James?" she called. Calmly. So very very calmly. Her house was covered in the stuff - streamers of green with tiny pure white berries dangled from the ceiling and down the walls. Even the stair bannister was entangled.

Footsteps on the stairs and James appeared. Shaving cream covered half his face and his glasses were missing. He squinted near-sightedly at her and Lily felt a pang of affection. She barely restrained herself from hurrying up the stairs and flinging her arms round his neck to pull him into a kiss. Maybe they hadn't quite passed the honeymoon phase.

"What's- oh" he seemed to notice all the mistletoe. "Why's our house covered in mistletoe?"

Lily hopped up the stairs so she was a step below him.

"I was about to ask you the same thing, dear"

James shrugged and started to head back up to the washroom, only to come up against some sort of invisible barrier. Lily followed and prodded at it curiously.

"Enchanted mistletoe" she realized, looking up.

"How daunting. We're married. And someone traps us in enchanted mistletoe. And we have to kiss to get out. What a hardship" James said dryly.

"Whoever it is didn't really think this through" Lily agreed, starting to laugh. She remembered a Christmas at Hogwarts when this enchanted mistletoe had been the bane of her existence. Not any more.

"I bet it was Sirius" James said immediately.

"How the hell did he get in? Our security needs some work"

James reached round Lily to grab her wand out of her pyjama pocket. He twisted it, frowning.

"The anti-Apperation wards are still in place"

Snatching for her wand, Lily made a face at him. "It's unfair that you can make my wand work but yours shocks me if I try"

James shrugged. "I've been working on wandless magic - I'm getting better at channeling through other stuff as well"

"Just cause YOU study random fields of high level magic-"

He took a step down so they were on the same stair and wrapped his arms around her waist.

The familiar warmth of his arms surrounded Lily and for a moment all she wanted to do was curl up beside him and sleep till spring.

"Merry Christmas Lily" James smiled, and she reached up, standing on her toes to thread her fingers through his messy dark hair and pull his lips to hers.

The mistletoe let them free and Lily wiped a bit of stray shaving cream off her cheek and sat down on the stairs to try to Vanish the mistletoe.

It didn't work. She tried Vanishing it, setting it on fire, severing its hold on the walls - nothing made any difference.

It sat there serenely, and it seemed to Lily, almost smugly.

She was going to murder Sirius. Or Remus. Or Peter. Or whoever had covered her house in mistletoe.

A strand of mistletoe hanging by her face provided an inviting target and Lily swiped at it. It ripped away from the ceiling and Lily blinked incredulously. All the spells she tried had had no effect but physical removal did? This was going to take a very long time.

James appeared shortly to help her, and the two of them worked through the rooms of the house, divesting the walls and ceilings of the plant.

Occasionally they would get stuck under the mistletoe again, and have to kiss to free themselves (horrors!) but for the most part they worked quietly and steadily until the house was free of mistletoe.

Lily left one strand in the kitchen, hanging low enough to brush the tops of their heads.

"This is how we had our first kiss" James said, smiling softly. He was gazing over her shoulder, remembering. "You threatened to hex me if I came near you"

Lily sighed dreamily and leant against him. "I was such a romantic"

James and her had never really made much sense. Supposedly, opposites attract but that had never been them. They were too much alike and somehow. . . It had worked. Her recklessness and his impulsivity. His sarcasm and her cynicism. And their hope, that one day their world would be safe and they would be free again.

Lily couldn't exactly remember when her and James had become James-and-Lily. It was before they started dating. When they were still friends, but people still saw them as inevitably two parts of the same whole.

"I'm glad we worked out, James" she whispered.

"We could've gone very wrong" James agreed.

"We could've broken up-"

"We could've never ended up together-"

"I could've ended up killing you-"

"Right - wait, what?"

"Nothing dear"

Lily kissed him slowly and languorously, heat collecting and gathering in their lips, branding them against one another.

There was a tinkling noise, like glass shattering somewhere very far away, and the air seemed to thin out, the hot, thick feeling between them disappearing.

"Merry Christmas Lily" James murmured and she stood on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck and let her chin rest in the crook of his shoulder.

The door slammed and Camilla slid into the kitchen on sock feet, hopping onto the table and grabbing an orange from the fruit basket. She dug a nail into the skin and started to peel it before noticing them.

"Oh hi" she said absently, separating a section and popping it into her mouth. There was snow caught in her bright blue hair. "You took down the mistletoe!" she continued, dismayed.

"That was you?" Lily demanded, stepping away from James. A rush of cool air filled the space between them and for a moment she ached at his absence.

Camilla shrugged, still eating her orange. "I was experimenting. I thought it was rather nice"

James grinned at Lily and she felt warm again, heat tingling in her fingertips like pent up magic.

"Well," Lily said. "It's good to know our security's still functioning"

Camilla just beamed at her friends, and waved her wand delicately, causing one last strand of mistletoe to sprout from the ceiling between James and Lily.

* * *

 _ **A.N. Damn, we're getting close to Christmas. I hope you're all having a lovely December!**_


	12. Last Christmas

_**Disclaimer... these characters belong to JKR**_

* * *

 _23rd of December_

* * *

"Wrapping day!" Lily said, hopping down the stairs excitedly.

James followed, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Rapping?"

" _Wrapping_ " she said impatiently. "It's time to wrap the mountain of presents"

"We went overboard" he said.

"Undoubtedly" Lily agreed cheerfully, sliding down the last few feet of the banister and arriving at the bottom with a thud. "But giving presents is fun"

"For someone who doesn't even say _'Merry Christmas'_ until the day, you're awfully invested in this holiday"

Burying her head in a cupboard, Lily ignored him. It was rather musty, but she spotted some rolls of wrapping paper at the back and hauled them out. She tossed them to James and he caught them clumsily.

"Some Chaser you are" Lily snorted, marching towards the living room. Using one of his rolls of wrapping paper as a sword, he whacked her gently over the head.

"En garde!" Lily parried his next slash with her roll, laughing merrily.

James stumbled back, almost falling over a low footstool. Still laughing, Lily stretched out a hand and helped him to his feet.

"Well fought Mrs Potter"

She took a theatrical bow. "Why thank you, Mr Potter"

"Shall we wrap?"

"I think we should"

The sheer array of wrapping supplies that Lily had bought was staggering – bows and ribbons and bags and boxes and tags and sticky labels and rolls upon rolls of Christmas wrapping paper, patterned with snowflakes and gold swirls and holly berries.

"You bought a lifetime supply of wrapping supplies" James said in awe, picking up a large square box with dark red and green stripes.

"Er" Lily said. "I've never really – done this – I didn't know how much to get. Like with the cards"

"Did you buy the whole store?"

"Only part of it" she defended, sitting down in the pile of paper. James picked up a red bow with a sticky back and stuck it to her hair. Lily blinked up at him, and raised one eyebrow. "Am I being given as a present?"

He bent down to kiss her softly, and plucked the bow off. "Nah. I think I'll keep you"

"Good idea" she grinned, picking up the bag of presents for their friends.

There were footsteps on the stairs and Camilla stuck her head round the corner, blue hair hanging like a curtain past her face.

"Hey" she said. "I need to wrap some stuff too, I'll go get my presents"

She retreated back up the stairs and Lily hastily bundled the bag with Camilla's gifts away.

Some thuds, like Cami was hopping down the stairs, and she reappeared, sacks of gifts in her arms and a beam on her face. She'd woven silver jingle bells back through her hair and shook her head, causing them to ring merrily as she tripped into the living room.

"I _love_ wrapping" she said happily, pulling off a piece of paper printed with snowflakes and silver swirls.

"Me too" Lily sighed and leant back on her hands.

It _was_ fun. It was organised, and colourful, and cosy. You could tell a lot about a person from how they wrapped their gifts.

Cami's were neat with perfectly creased corners, but flamboyant ribbons and bows sprouted from them.

James's were … a bit messy. Lily crawled over to help him before he used up all the tape.

It wasn't long before James found himself well and truly entangled in wrapping paper, tape and ribbons. He could see Lily trying to stifle her laughter and glared at her.

"How did you _do_ that?" Lily asked, starting to unwind him.

"I dunno" he said. They had managed to wrap most of the presents, some neater than others, and the space underneath the tree was jam packed with packages.

"That's impressive" Camilla admitted, perched behind a pile of colourful gifts. The fire flickered, casting orange light over the scene. If Lily closed her eyes, she could pretend that warmth on her face was a summer sunset.

The sun had gone down as they worked and the windows were squares of black, gleaming like jet in the cool white lights of the Christmas tree.

The year was winding down, Lily thought. Christmas was always bittersweet. And every Christmas felt like it was the last Christmas you would ever get. She looked over at James, who was wiggling out of the wrapping paper, and at Cami, who was laughing, head tipped back to expose the pale column of her throat. It was their last Christmas and their first – like so many things in their lives, it was an impossible contradiction.

Every Christmas had that desperately tinged feel, that aching end. It was a time for grand declarations and quiet introspection. It was a knife edge of emotion – with joy and impossible love on one side and sadness and heartache on the other, and every year the sides would bleed over until you were full to the brim of emotion, be it good or bad and you couldn't quite tell one from the other.

Lily looked down at her own pile of shiny gifts. It was her last Christmas and her first, and it was a Christmas she would remember for the rest of her life. Lily would always remember that December in streaks of colours – in the warm hazel of James's eyes, the brilliant blue of Camilla's hair, the flashing white of Sirius's grin. In bloody reds and forest greens, in snowy whites and glowing silvers. It was Christmas, and Lily was a contradictory mess of emotions, but her family was there, and they would be alright.

She looked over, and James was gazing at her quietly, and understandingly.

"Merry Christmas, Lily" he said softly, and she reached out to take his strong hand in her own.

* * *

 ** _A.N. Well that got rather philosophical. Whoops. I was probably projecting a bit - Christmas has always been a bit of a tightrope for me, and I always get melancholy as the end of the year approaches. I hope you've all had interesting years, whether good, or bad, and that next year brings new experiences, and new people. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year._**

 ** _A.N. 2. I'll be posting the final chapter in two parts - one on Christmas Eve, and one on Christmas day. As always, thank you for reading. Your comments keep me writing._**


	13. Come All Ye Faithful

_**Disclaimer... these characters belong to JKR**_

* * *

 _24th of December_

* * *

"There's a flaw in our plan" Lily announced on Christmas Eve morning, sitting upright so quickly her head hit the low ceiling above their bed. James, beside her, opened one eye slowly and looked at the bump on her head sympathetically.

"What's the flaw?" he asked, speaking above her curses.

"Ouch – _fuck_ that hurt"

"The flaw?" he asked again.

"Oh right – I don't know how to cook a turkey. Is cook the right word? Or do I bake it? It goes in the oven, after all. Would it be roasted?"

"I think roasted" James confirmed, sitting up slowly and avoiding the low ceiling. Outside, it was snowing again, and it was drifting up to the top of the windows on the first floor. They'd have to Floo their dinner guests in.

Lily had put an Undetectable Extension Charm on the guest room, and James had conjured several sets of bunk beds for Remus, Sirius, Peter, Camilla, Mary and Marlene. It was their first Christmas outside of Hogwarts, and by virtue of being the only people with a house, James and Lily had volunteered to host the celebrations. And now they had to bake a turkey.

* * *

"I can't find any recipes!" Lily said, leafing through their stack of cookery books. "Braised turkey, boiled turkey, _flambéed_ turkey – who the _hell_ would want to flambé a turkey – but no roasted turkey"

The wireless was on, set to the WWW's Christmas station, and Lily had to shout above the wails of the Golden Snidgets to be heard.

James was in the living room, stacking presents for everyone under the tree, but he wandered back to the kitchen in a minute.

"Maybe we forget the turkey" he suggested, leaning against the doorframe and shoving his glasses back up his long nose.

The book Lily held made a hefty 'thwack' when it hit the ground, and she stared incredulously at her husband, brandishing her wand under his nose. He leaned back as she lectured him.

"No _turkey_? What sort of house d'you think this is? Maybe we'll just have roast _deer_ for dinner! How does that sound? I'm sure I can find a recipe for roasted deer"

"It was just a suggestion" he muttered, taking the glass of eggnog that Lily shoved into his hand with a huff.

"A bloody stupid one" she said, returning to her cookery books.

In the living room, a huge stack of brightly wrapped gifts spilled out from under the tree. They may have gone slightly overboard on gifts, but James shrugged. It wasn't as if they couldn't afford it.

It was just the two of them in the house for the moment – Camilla had gone to visit some old friends last night, but she'd promised to be back for Christmas Eve dinner.

"Where do you even get a turkey?" Lily demanded from the kitchen.

"From the shop?"

"Oh"

James went back to inspecting the presents. That red and gold one, with Remus's name on it looked suspiciously like a book, and one of the blue and white one's with Marlene's name on it looked soft and lumpy, like it could be a jumper or a scarf. A Yule log burned in the fireplace, and eight stockings were hung up on the magically stretched mantelpiece.

Christmas carols rang through the house.

" _This one witch from Gryffindor, bearing caldrons that came from afar. Dragons and kelpies, giants and sphinxes besieged our hero far._

 _Wand of beauty, wand of light, wand of ceaseless power bright. Far from here, and still no closer, the witch does chase that perfect light"_

James hummed along tunelessly and didn't see Lily standing in the kitchen doorway, looking down at him and biting her lip.

"James?" she said, and he turned around.

"I'm sorry" she whispered.

"It's alright. Did you find a recipe?"

She nodded slowly and went to him, pulling him up from the carpet by the tree and kissing him firmly. "Roast turkey with stuffing" Lily said, starting to smile.

"Wonderful. D'you need help?"

"Wanna make the stuffing?"

"Sure"

* * *

Their guests arrived at four – all of them carrying small burlap sacks.

Lily stared at the group of them as they deposited their sacks on the ground.

"Er – is this some new trend? Did I miss last issue of _Which Witch_?"

"Presents, Lily" Peter told her, reaching into his and disappearing up to the shoulder.

"Undetectable Extension Charms" Mary explained, fetching a wicker basket out of hers and passing it to Lily.

Marlene shrugged and nodded towards the sacks.

"It seemed appropriate"

Lily hurried off to hide the basket in the cupboard, leaving a supply of cat food and water in the cupboard as well before coming back to the living room.

Sirius upended his sack by the tree, letting a tumble of messily wrapped presents fall onto the ground.

"Was your boyfriend cool with you taking off for Christmas?" Sirius asked Mary, who had kicked off her damp boots and shoes to display a pair of very fuzzy pyjamas. She curled up in a chair and blinked up at him.

"Yep. He's doing his own thing with his family"

"Nice"

James emerged from the kitchen to dole out mince pies and mulled wine, before disappearing again and dragging Peter with him to help with the gravy.

By the time everyone had dumped out their present sacks, there was a veritable mountain of gifts by the tree, and Lily started stacking them so no one would trip over them.

Per James's instructions, everyone was wearing cosy looking Christmas pyjamas, and they all sprawled on the carpet by the fire, conversing quietly about Christmases in years past.

("D'you remember the Yule ball in our fifth year? James took Helen Monksfoot" "Oh right. I was never sure why we even had that, those are only supposed to be for Triwizard years" "Dumbledore wanted an excuse to party")

("Lily, what was the first Christmas present you ever got James?" "A sack of Hippogriff dung in our second year" "You were a brutal little thing")

"Who wants eggnog?" James poked his head out of the kitchen, brandishing a tall jug of eggnog in one hand and a bottle of rum in the other.

Camilla leapt up and sashayed over in her blue flannel pyjamas covered in embroidered white snowflakes and scooped the drinks out of James's hands. She instated herself in the corner of the living room to start pouring them.

"Damn, we're so grown up" Sirius said, accepting his and sniffing it cautiously.

"Why're you sniffing it?" Marlene asked him curiously.

"Constant vigilance" he barked, and the rest of them groaned.

"Mad-Eye Moody's a nutter" Remus said, gulping his eggnog.

"Y'know he'll probably outlive us all" Lily joked, rolling over to rest her head in Mary's lap.

"Nah, I think Remus will survive the longest" Camilla said, casting him an appraising look.

"Merlin, you're all morbid". Peter returned from the kitchen and accepted a glass of eggnog from Camilla.

Sirius clapped his hands. "We've gotten off topic. This is weird, guys. We're in _Lily and James's_ house and they're _married_ and we're spending _Christmas_ together and we're not at Hogwarts or anything – we're doing it of our own free will"

"That is weird" Lily acknowledged, holding out her glass to Cami for a top up.

The group lapsed into contemplative silence as James joined them and Lily immediately curled into his side. The silence was broken as the other members of the group either went 'awww' or pretended to gag.

"Oi!" Lily chucked a green and red painted pine cone at Sirius, who was miming being sick.

"I'm really glad we all stayed together" Mary said softly, smiling at them all and picking up the pine cone, setting it to the side.

"We are too, Mar" Lily told her.

"Well, this is delightfully sentimental" Marlene said, "but we need to designate someone to fill the stockings"

"Lily" Peter said quickly, followed by a chorus of 'yeah, Lily'

"Why me?" Lily said.

"You're _organized_ " James told her, kissing her cheek swiftly.

"Wow" Lily said dryly. "What a compliment, I'm put together enough to be Santa"

* * *

Lily's turkey was a success, as was James's stuffing, and everyone ate until they were bursting.

The only dark point came during the round of toasts after the Christmas pudding.

"To hope" Mary proposed, standing up on her chair, pink cheeked and giggling.

"To fighting the good fight" Peter said solemnly.

"To Christmas!" James grinned.

"To absent friends" Camilla whispered, and there was a hush in the room. The crackling fire behind them seemed to be talking, trading tales and whispers back and forth until Lily lifted her glass and spoke.

"To the friends we have here, the ones that are gone, and the ones that we have yet to make. To ridding the world of fear and fighting for that even when we're terrified. To all of you" she said, quietly.

"Well said" Remus told her, and James leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.

After that, Sirius had proposed a game of strip Exploding Snap at which point Lily dosed them all with Firewhiskey and sent them to bed. She left the dishes to do themselves in the kitchen, the china clinking softly as she filled the stockings.

Once they were all stuffed full to the brim, she hooked a candy cane down the side of each one and left to go rescue Artie the cat from the cupboard, setting her in the middle of the pile of gifts.

She stopped for a moment, staring at the presents. The ones that Sirius wrapped were messy, in garish, glittery paper. Camilla's were all done in silver printed with blue snowflakes. Remus and Peter seemed to have done theirs together, because theirs were wrapped in matching green and red striped paper. Marlene's were mostly in boxes or gift bags, and Mary had printed a roll of brown paper with black Christmas stamps. Lily had bought a few rolls of wrapping paper, so hers were all different patterns.

She smiled at the softly gleaming tree and the ornament with her and James's memory, before flicking out the lights and fetching her wand to go to bed. Her family was fast asleep and Christmas was coming.

* * *

 _ **A.N. One last chapter... Merry Christmas everyone. Sleep well.**_


	14. Christmas Morning

**_Disclaimer... these characters belong to JKR_**

* * *

 _25th of December_

* * *

James, as ever, woke up first and woke Lily up too by bouncing on the bed until the creaking springs woke her up.

"Merry Christmas Mrs Potter!" he beamed, before dropping down and kissing her exuberantly.

"-Erry Mistmas – whatimisit?"

"Five a.m.!" he announced happily, pulling her up and scooping her into his arms.

"James" she said, starting to wake up. "Put me the fuck down and go the fuck back to sleep"

"No!" he said cheerfully, freeing one of his arms to toss her dressing gown over her lap before sweeping her off to the guest room.

"I'm serious" Lily warned him. "No one wants to be woken up at five in the morning"

James opened the door with his foot.

Lily stared in some shock.

All of the others were sitting upright in bed, hair brushed and pyjamas straightened, staring at the door.

"Excellent!" Sirius said, hopping up from his bed. He hurried over to the door to pat James on the head and kiss Lily on the cheek before running downstairs.

"Merry Christmas!" Camilla shrieked, launching herself at Lily, who was set down hastily by James.

Camilla had changed her hair until it hung down to her waist in alternating dark green and red streaks in a fit of festivity. One eyebrow was also green, and the other was red.

"Merry Christmas Cami!" Lily managed to steady the two of them so Camilla didn't bowl them over.

"Presents!" Marlene shouted, flinging herself out of bed and pelting down the stairs.

By the time everyone had gotten down, Sirius had gotten all the stockings down from the tree and laid each one in front of the proper recipient. Someone had filled Lily's in the night as well.

They had all been put in charge of one stocking, so as to avoid confusion. Lily had picked out the things for Peter, and she smiled as he pulled out an enormous sack of sweets from Honeydukes.

Her own stocking contained a pocket Sneakoscope, a large turquoise Puffskein that chirruped at her, and a selection of expensive quills.

"Aww, look, a pet!" Lily held up the Puffskein and petted it with her finger.

"I thought they were smaller" Marlene frowned.

"Nah, that's the miniature ones" Remus told her. "That one's a genuine, pedigreed Puffskein"

"Thanks Remus!"

"No problem"

Lily smiled at the fuzzy creature and tucked it in her front pyjama pocket for safe keeping.

After the stockings were opened, they tackled the tree. It looked set to be a bit of a free for all, until Lily rescued the wicker basket from under the tree and presented it to James.

James looked up at her suspiciously.

"It won't bite!" Lily said impatiently.

"Hopefully" Marlene muttered, and Lily hushed her as James unlatched the top of the basket.

Artie's huge orange ears were flattened along the top of her head, and she peered round distrustfully at the crowd surrounding her.

"Aww" Camilla cooed. "She must be part Kneazle"

"How'd you know that?" Mary asked, surprised.

Camilla gestured vaguely at the cat's ears. "It's the – cone of the ear"

"Her name's Artie" Lily said softly, watching James steadily.

"She's awesome" James said, picking her out of her basket and giving her a quick hug. "She's like a small lion; I could sic her on people"

"No" Lily said immediately. "I don't want any deaths at the paws of our cat"

Artie, seemingly overcome by all the attention, leapt off James's lap and ran for the kitchen.

Lily poked her finger in her pocket to sooth her Puffskein.

"Alright, everyone can open their presents now!"

Mary raised a cheer, and they all dove in.

It was rather a long time before they surfaced again. By the time they broke for breakfast, Sirius was wearing a new leather motorcycle jacket that he refused to take off; Mary was wearing a headband bedecked with cat ears that wiggled when she moved her head, and Lily had a new, floor length scarlet silk cloak that she also refused to remove.

"I look like a _super villain_ " she declared happily, sweeping it along the floor. James clapped dutifully, Artie perched in his lap. Remus was in a corner, pouring over the lycanthropy treatise that Lily had gotten him, Marlene was setting off some small fireworks at Peter who was exploding them with his wand, chuckling, and Camilla had received an Invisibility Cloak from James and Lily, and was sitting in a chair with only her head sticking out of the top.

"Merry Christmas Lily" James told her quietly, and she immediately dropped into his lap, shooing the cat away.

Lily leaned forward until their noses were almost touching, and then she smiled. It was a brilliant, sharp, snowy white smile, and James wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her breathless.

"Merry Christmas James" she whispered, and kissed him softly.

* * *

 ** _The End_**

 ** _A.N. Thanks so much for reading, and have a very Merry Christmas._**


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